The Secret of Moonacre: Robin's Side of the Story
by Loki's Only Love
Summary: Robin's side of the story (movieverse). Follows the entire film but through Robins eyes done in 3rd person. This is a complete One-shot!


Disclaimer: I own nothing! I am only doing this for my own enjoyment.

A/N : the bold dialog is taken directly from the film and does not belong to me! And a big thank you to Hippogriff-Tamer for being my Beta for this story. This is a ONESHOT!

Robin De Noir stared out of his tower window wondering what he could do to make his father proud of him. It seemed like everything he did only seemed to make his father hate him more and more. He knew that his father blamed him for his mother's death but really how was it his fault? She had died giving birth to him and there was not a day that his father let him forget about it. Always calling him a dolt and telling him that he was worthless. He sometimes wondered if his sister had the right idea in leaving.

He thought about the curse that had been placed on the valley. A curse that would soon come to a close. The five thousandth moon would soon be appearing. Unlike his father, he didn't believe that the Merryweather's were completely to blame for all the misfortune that had befallen the valley though he would never voice that thought though. They had yet to find out who the new Moon Princess was. The last one had been his sister. She had been disowned by their father because she had dared to fall in love with a Merryweather. It was said that the Last Moon Princess would appear soon and that she would be a Merryweather. Strange really since every Moon Princess that had ever been born had been born into the De Noir clan. So the fact that the last Moon Princess would be a Merryweather surely had his father nervous and on edge.

He sighed as he heard a knock on his door and a servant telling him that his father wanted to speak to him and that it was urgent. He got up and left his tower to see what it was his father wanted of him. Upon entering the great hall he found his father standing at the head of the table looking grim.

"Robin, you are to go to London tonight and bring back the Merryweather girl," his father stated without preamble.

"What? What Merryweather girl?"

"The Last Moon Princess of course. She is Sir Benjamin's niece and her father has died leaving her an orphan. He has sent his man to London to bring his niece to Moonacre and I want you to get to her first. You will go to London and bring the girl back here. Do I make myself clear?!"

Robin nodded and wondered exactly how was he to know who the girl was or even what she looked like. He would hate to bring the wrong girl back. He turned to leave knowing that he was on a time limit. He and a few of his friends left for London in a little under an hour's time.

He arrived at the cemetery early the next morning while his friends went to find out where she lived. He soon saw a procession coming towards his hiding spot and watched as a young girl with auburn red hair, who appeared to be no more than thirteen, walked besides a carriage carrying in her hands two red roses. He watched as she threw one of the roses into the fresh grave and then walked over to another grave nearby and laid the other one down lovingly. She turned and saw him moments before returning to her older companion's side. He tried to hide the shock he felt when he saw her face. He knew her. It was the same face he had been seeing in his dreams for the past several months. He quickly stepped away from her line of sight to try and control the way his heart was pounding. When he did manage to again glance towards the new grave, he found her gone and wondered how long he had been hiding behind the pillar of the stone gazebo. Cursing because of his missed chance, he walked back to the rendezvous point to meet his friends. They had discovered where she lived. They made plans to kidnap her that night.

Later that night, they snuck into the house where the Last Moon Princess resided intent on kidnapping her. Together they found her room and curious to see her up close for the first time he walked over to the bed where she lay sleeping. He bent over her and picked up the pendant she wore and nearly dropped it upon looking at it. It was the very same pendant his mother's best friend had worn. The only reason he knew this was because there was a portrait of his mother and her friend that hung in the castle gallery. Her mother must have given it to her. He backed up and had to hide quickly when one of his friends knocked over something and it fell loudly to the floor. The noise woke the sleeping girl and she called out if someone was there. Robin could clearly hear the fear in her voice but there was also an undertone of bravery. He heard her get out of her bed and make her way over to his hiding spot when a noise out in the hall distracted her and she left the room. They left the room knowing that they had once again missed their opportunity to kidnap her. They returned to Moonacre Valley to await her arrival and hoped that they would be more successful there.

It took a few days of waiting but then they spotted the carriage that was bearing the Last Moon Princess to Moonacre, the Merryweather estate. They waited until the man stopped to unlock the gate before they tried once again to kidnap the girl.

Robin waited until she had leaned out the window to ask the driver if they were there yet and then grabbed her. He had not expected her to fight back so hard nor had he expected her to wound him with her embroidery needle. But wound him she did. She stabbed him in the hand with the retched thing making him let go of her as a searing pain went through his hand and up his arm. He fell off the carriage as it once again began to move. He tried to run for the open gate but it closed quickly and again he had failed in his mission. His father would not be pleased to hear of this failure and he was afraid of what punishment would await him at home for this misdeed.

He made his way home a little reluctantly knowing full well he was going to get it from his father for not bringing the Moon Princess with him. It wasn't like the girl even knew that she was the Moon Princess. She certainly didn't act like he thought the Moon Princess would and he had grown up with one. He slowly walked up the hill to the castle. He tried to avoid the great hall where he knew his father awaited as he walked into his home. He managed to make it to his tower room before he heard his father bellow his name. Taking a deep breath, he turned and walked back to the great hall.

"Why was I blessed with such a failure for a son? Is it not enough my only daughter betrayed me? Now her brother can't seem to do the one thing I ask of him. How hard is it to capture one little girl? I swear all I asked of you was get the Merryweather girl and you couldn't even do that. Must I do everything myself? Lure the girl into the forest and capture her and bring her to me. I mean it Robin. There will be hell to pay if you fail me this time."

Robin visibly blanched at his father words. There was no doubt his father would follow through with his threat. After all he had the scars to prove that he would do as he said he would. Robin knew that there was nothing he could say that would make his father happy. It was not his fault that the Princess seemed so slippery. He left his father and walked back to his tower room thinking of a way to lure the Princess into the forest for he was sure that Sir Benjamin Merryweather had already warned his niece about going into the forest.

He spent the next few days laying traps near the Merryweather estate hoping that a trapped animal would lure the girl into the forest. After all what girl could resist helping an injured animal. His plan was perfect. Nothing could go wrong surely.

The day after all the traps were laid, he stood behind a tree by one of the traps nearest to the Merryweather estate; when he heard rustling nearby. He waited a few minutes before coming out from his hiding place and approaching the girl he had lured there.

**"One trap. Two catches,"** he said with a laugh.

The girl looked up startled standing and backing away from him in fear. Yet she bravely asked, **"What do you want?"** as she was surrounded by his friends.

**"That's girls. Catch an animal they can't resist coming to help,"** Robin quipped with a smirk. His friends laughed at his statement.

**"I know who you are. You're bandits and plunderers!"** she returned heatedly.

They all laughed at that not expecting her to turn and attack the nearest man to her. Robin moved than to pull her off him and she in turn continued her assault only on her newest attacker. She managed to grab his hand and recognized the slash she had put on him when he had tried to pull her from the carriage when she arrived in the valley.

**"You!"** she cried in astonishment.

**"You're coming with us now. My father is just dying to make your acquaintance,"** Robin said trying not to relish the fact that she still had hold of his hand. Suddenly he was jumped by a huge black dog. A dog he knew better than to cross.

**"It's that demon dog! Robin, let's get out of here!"** one of his companions said running away. Robin looked back at them and then returned his attention back to the girl and the dog. He,too, finally ran off when the dog snarled at him and he took off into the woods again lamenting the fact that he had not been able to capture the girl.

He was wondering if any of their plans to capture the girl would ever come to pass. That dog of her's was not going to make it easy to capture her and there was nothing any of them could do about it. They were all terrified of the huge black dog whose eyes always glowed red when they at them. He continued running until one of his friends yelled out, **"Robin, it's your father!"** He stopped in his tracks as his father rode up to him.

**"What did I do to deserve such a prize dolt for a son?"** his father said, humiliating him in front of everyone. Then his father rode off and he was left feeling the rejection once again.

He didn't know why he was being blamed for the girls escape. It wasn't his fault she had escaped. If that demon dog of her's hadn't shown up they would have succeeded in their mission. He left the group then and headed back into the forest to think. He hated when his father said things like that in front of everyone. It made him feel just as worthless as his father claimed him to be. He needed to come up with a plan to get the girl. A solid foolproof plan at that. A way to get to her with out that dog of her's interuppting and rescueing her. There had to be a way to get the girl but how he was not yet sure of. Maybe he could visit his sister. She might have an idea but then again she herself had been a Moon Princess and had failed in her task, hence why another had been chosen. He wandered the woods until it got dark and then headed back to the castle. He ordered his supper be brought to his chamber and then climbed the stairs to his tower. He was exhausted and emotionally drained as he normally was when confronted by his father's hateful manner. He had thought long and hard about how to get to the Merryweather girl and the only thing he could think of was to take her from her own house. He just had to figure out how to get in without anyone noticing and that included her dog. He fell asleep hoping that he would not dream of her again, but it was not to be.

The next morning he awoke and planned to reveal his latest scheme on how to get to the girl to his father hoping that his father would like the plan. He made his way to the great hall where the entire clan seemed to have gathered to eat.

**"Father, I've prepared a plan to snatch the girl from under the Merryweather roof,"** he told his father as he sat down to eat.

His father though was not please by his son's words and reprimanded him, **"Don't go near Moonacre. That house is damned!"** then his fathers prized falcon let out a screech and everyone in the room grew silent. **"Now, word is she's about to meet her downfall,"** his father said looking up at the balcony overlooking the hall where suddenly girlish screeches could be heard. Robin looked up surprised to see the girl in his home. He saw his father smile as the girl was brought to him. He got up to join his father as the girl was forced to her knees before his father. Robin tried to suppress a smirk as he looked down at her.

**"How kind of you to join us, Moon Princess,"** his father spit out the princess part in disgust.

The girl jerked her hand out of the guard's grip that held her and offered his father the key to the casket. **"Oh. Oh now, what is this?"** his father asked. **"She has brought us the lost key gentleman."**

Robin and the rest of the men in the room laughed at that and Robin could not keep his eyes from the girl in blue in the mist of his black clad clan. He wore a grin on his face as his father continued his speech to the girl. **"Because the terrible De Noirs have had the moon pearls hidden up here all this time haven't we?"**

No one expected her to talk back to the head of their family but she did, **"Well, it's true, isn't it? Your ancestor stole them!"**

He had to give it to the girl. She had guts to talk back to his father. He admired her fiery spirit and continued to grin as his father continued to talk to the girl.

**"My ancestor. Well, perhaps, Princess I should introduce you."**

His father walked up to the place where their founding father lay in his crypt. The guard dragged the girl towards the place and Robin wanted to be closer to her pushed the guard out of the way and held her himself. He looked at her and then back at his father.

**"Maria Merryweather, the Last Moon Princess. Sir William, the very first Couer De Noir,"** the current Couer De Noir said as a way of introduction.

Robin pushed her down to her knees once again at the introduction. His father then took a small box off of the crypt and turning back to his audience.

Robin heard her soft breathy voice say, **"The pearl casket,"** as he pulled her back into a standing position.

His father smirked at this and said, **"And you so very kindly brought us the key."** The current Couer De Noir smiled putting the key to the lock before dropping the key to the floor, **"Oh,"** he stated still smirking devilishly as he opened the casket to reveal its empty interior.

**"You've hidden them!"** Maria cried out outraged by the fact that the pearls were not in the casket like she had hoped they would be.

Robin rolled his eyes at her outrage finding it funny that she had believed that they had the pearls to begin with.

**"They were never there, girl. Your filthy Merryweather family took them. Before he **(pointing at the crypt)** picked up the box. They stole the pearls. But soon, the final moon will rise, and the thieving Merryweather's will be punished."**

Robin spared a brief glance at the girl before his father continued, **"And now that we have you here, there's nothing anyone can do to stop it."** Again Robin looked at the girl smirking as he did so.

**"At last the entire valley will be ours. And the De Noirs will finally feast upon revenge!"** his father finished with glee and a cheer went through the hall.

After that his father ordered Maria to be taken to the dungeons and kept there. Robin and a few of his companions took her. Robin leading the way his hand still gripping her upper arm tightly. They made their way to the lower levels of the castle where the dungeons lay. When they were close to the dungeons he began pushing her forward roughly. She struggled to keep herself standing everytime he gave her a push forward. Suddenly she turned on him her eyes flashing.

**"Leave me alone, you oaf!"** she cried indigently.

He laughed at that walking up into her and getting right up into her face before saying,** "You know, for someone in your current predicament, I have to admire your spirit."**

Having enough of his arrogant attitude, she kicked him in the shin hard. He bent over in pain surprised that she had kicked him so hard. His companions laughed. **"I told you she was feisty, Robin,"** one of his companions said still laughing at his obvious pain. Robin was mad. How dare she?! He managed to stand and grabbed her, **"Witch!"** he bellowed and proceeded to drag her down the corridor towards the cell they were going to put her in. He could hear his friends telling him not to take that from her and what was he gonna do about it? One of them even went as far as to ask if he should toss her out.

They entered the cell area and he told the guard on duty, **"Hey. Lock her in."**

The guard answered immediately and opened the cell and Robin roughly pushed Maria into it. One of his companions told her, **"Welcome to your new home!"** and another one said, **"You can always make friends with the cockroaches!"** and another **"Sweet dreams."**

Robin glared at her then waved before addressing his friends and then the guard, **"Come on. Let's go. Guard, watch her. She's slippery,"** before leaving the dungeons and the Moon Princess. He and his friends left the dungeon laughing, happy they had finally caught the little princess.

He went back to the great hall and laughed and joked around with his friends as they celebrated the capture of the Moon Princess. A few hours later though, their peace and revelry was interrupted by the guards yelling, **"After her! Catch her! Stop Her!"**

Robin looked up surprised. How in the world had she gotten out of the cell? He ran out of the hall in pursuit of their prize. He was surprised to see that she was no longer in the dress she had been wearing and figured out quickly that she had used it in her escape. They cornered her on a parapet.** "Princess. What are you gonna do now?"** he asked amused by her behavior and yet scared that she was going to do herself some kind of harm as she was standing precariously on the edge of the stone wall. Seconds later she lost her balance and fell backwards and Robin's heart dropped as he watched her fall and roll down the hill before he and his friends took off after her.

He met up with his father at the edge of the castle grounds, **"I want her killed. I won't let her stop the curse. Their death is our victory,"** his father growled out.

Robin took off along with the rest of the search party in pursuit of the runaway princess murmuring as he walked away, **"Stupid girl. Should have stayed where you were."**

He and his companions ran into the woods. Robin, who was an excellent tracker, looked for signs of her passing and followed them. Running through the woods he missed seeing a blue ribbon stuck to a tree limb and heard his friend call out, **"Robin,"** he turned back and took the ribbon with a grin and again raced off through the dense foliage. **"Come on,"** he called out as he continued to follow the little princess. A few minutes later they stop briefly and look around before Robin turns in the direction of Moonacre, **"This way,"** he called as he continued to race through the forest. They made it to the edge of the forest only to see the girl running up to the great estate. Robin cursed inwardly. He had seen the dog with her and knew that it had led her out of the forest. He knew that they would need to get rid of the demon dog in order to get to the princess. He trudged back to the castle cursing all the way for his misfortune. His father would surely blame him for allowing the girl to get free even though it had not been his fault.

The next day he went out alone into the forest he needed to think and came upon a trap he did not remember setting. It was then he heard a rustling behind the tree and drew his dagger from his belt. He saw Maria walk out from behind the tree and he smirked. **"Princess. Giving yourself up? How good of you."**

Maria smiled coyly and chuckled then leaned down and pulled at something beside her. Suddenly he was pulled up through the air by his ankles. Maria who was still chuckling said, **"The great tracker…trapped."** She then walked up to him and picked up his fallen dagger.

**"Let me down, you little witch!"** he yelled at her as she walked over to where the rope was the held him suspended in the air upside-down.

**"Certainly,"** she answered cheekily.

Seeing what she was about to do he growled, **"Ooh. No, don't you dare!"** he did not feel like falling on his head.

Again her cheeky reply,** "No?"**

He could feel his foot throbbing where the robe was wound around it and groaned because of the pain, **"Ohh. Ohh. My foot! Ohh. Aah. Aah. Please…..Oh…."**

He saw her walk off and knew he had to stop her, **"Wait! Oh, this is really hurting! I can feel my head swelling!"**

This had her turning back towards him and chuckling once more.** "Oh, no. It was like that before,"** then as an afterthought, **"I will let you down if you do one thing for me."**

Robin exasperated already growled out **"What?!"** Truly wanting to know what it was she wanted after all she had caught him in a trap with no way out.

She pretended to think for a moment before replying.** "Just promise you will listen,"** then walked back over to where the rope that held him was before turning to him once more, **"Say "I promise."** When he didn't say anything she told him,** "Just say it."**

Somehow knowing he would be stuck there for a while if he didn't go along with her little game he said,** "I promise. All right? You beat me. Let me down!"**

Smiling Maria turned and said, **"Very well,"** before cutting the rope that held him dropping him to the forest floor.

As soon as he had righted himself he turn on her and ran up to her. She in turn feeling threatened held his dagger up pointed straight at him while her demon of a dog growled at him. **"What about him,"** he asked indicating the huge dog that was still growling.

Maria answered knowingly, **"You are a De Noir. He very probably will hurt you."**

He gulped and slinked over to a fallen branch to sit down. **"I'm listening,"** he finally said barely sparing her a glance.

Maria began with what she had learned from the book. She told him of the curse and how it had been cast.

**"Betrayed by those she loved the most the Moon Princess unleashed the power bestowed upon her and cast a terrifying curse over them all."**

_**"Hear me! You have spurned the gifts of nature, and you shall suffer for it! Nature will wreak her revenge and put a curse on this valley! One day, a pure heart will walk among you, and if she is not heard, when the five thousandth moon rises from the sea, this valley shall be plunged into eternal darkness!"**_

**"The moon pearls vanished that day, and where to find them remained a secret."**

"This is why I need your help, Robin. You know these woods. Have walked them nearly all your life. If anyone knows where to find the tree I am looking for it would be you! The curse is not going to destroy just my family but yours as well! The entire valley not just Moonacre will fall. I need your help, Robin, Please!"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. As much as he wanted to believe her he couldn't seem to. He stood turning away form her. **"Bye,"** he said  
walking away.

**"Robin, please,"** she all but begged of him, desperation lacing her voice.

He turned backs towards her, **"I promised I would listen to you and I have,"** with that he turned and again began walking away.

**"Robin, you have to help me! You have to!"** she cried going after him.

Exasperated he turned and grabbed her upper arms, **"You are a Merryweather. Right now, I ought to kill you,"** he stated releasing her. Though it was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn't know why but he had the sudden urge to protect her from his father.

Maria who was getting more and more desperate by the minute returned heatedly, **"Kill me, and the whole valley dies with me. You and I can stop it and we only have until moonrise,"** she began walking off before adding, **"Tonight!"**

Robin rolled his eyes and then sighed knowing she was right.** "I'm still listening,"** he finally said while running after her.

She walked off ahead of him and he followed chuckling to himself. He would never have believed that he would be the one to help her but he had a feeling she knew what would happen if she did not put a stop to the curse. As she continued to walk ahead of him he stopped momentarily to remove her ribbon from his pocket and tied it to a low branch before joining her.

**"What was that?"** she asked curiously.

**"False trail,"** he stated as they continued to walk.

Maria hoping to find out how he had procured one of her ribbons asked, **"What were you doing with one of my ribbons in your pocket?"**

Robin blushed slightly at her inquiry though he remained silent on the issue. He wan't about to tell her why he had her ribbon. They continued walking for a while when he asked her where the pearls were since she had said she was looking for a tree.

**"They are in a tree but it's very distinctive. It has massive roots twisting around a big dark hollow. And…"**

**"I know where that is,"** he said interrupting her.

He leaned against a tree and asked, **"Suppose for a moment I do decide to help you. And suppose we actually manage to find the pearls. What then?"**

She, too, leaned against a tree and glanced at him before coming up with a reply, **"Well, we'd return them to the sea, and then we'd go…"**

**"You know, my father's coming for you,"** he stated knowingly; though now the thought of her getting caught and possibly killed made his heart clench painfully. He needed to protect her. He didn't understand why but he needed to.

**"It's just a matter of finding them before he finds me,"** she returned fearfully. Knowing it was a possibility that Robin's father would find her first but she had to at least try to find the pearls before that happened.

He turned away then and began walking away. Maria hurried after him. After a little while he told her, **"It's through the clearing and over the next hill."** He heard her call for her dog who had run on ahead. **"We are not far now,"** he said as they made their way up a slight incline. Again she called for the dog running up ahead of him while doing so. Suddenly he was grabbed by one of his father's men and held against a tree with his mouth covered and a dagger at his throat. He could hear Maria calling for her dog and then him. He could hear the fear in her voice. He hear the whimper of the dog in the distance and heard her run off in its direction. As soon as she was gone another of his father's henchmen came and grabbed hold of him. They walked a little ways and came to the spot where they had captured the dog in a pit. **"Wrolf?!"** he cried out seeing where the dog was. They dragged him to where his father had just ridden up and he was pushed up against a tree.

**"Oh this is pretty…."** his father began.

**"Father, let me explain…"** Robin started tears already gathering in his eyes.

**"Is it not enough for one member of my family to betray me? Now I find that her brother is a traitor, too. I will take care of this princess myself once and for all!"** by the time his father had finished Robin was desperately trying to hold off his tears.

He knew that his father would find Maria and kill her as he was so desperate to keep the curse from being broken. Robin though finally believed Maria when she told him that the entire valley would be destroyed and he could not let that happen. His father called for his lead henchman and they rode off in search of the girl leaving robin in the care of two guards.

He tried to escape their hold but it was too strong. Before too long though a single gunshot was heard as well as a girls scream. **"MARIA!"** he screamed trying once more to break free. Suddenly Wrolf jumped out of the pit and leaped at the guards holding him down. He heard them scream at the dog to get back and as they were distracted by the dog he grabbed his dagger they had dropped when Wrolf had attacked. Standing, he and Wrolf ran into the forest towards the sound of Maria's frightened cries. It surprised him for a second that the demon dog was actually helping him but before he could think about it more another shot rang out. Only this time it came from behind him and he heard Wrolfs pained whine. He knew that the dog had been shot and he was torn as to whether to go to the dog or continue on to get to Maria. Maria won and he raced towards the sound of where his father and the girl he was coming to love were struggling with each other. Soon, he bumped into Maria and she in turn yelled at him.

**"You! How could you betray me like that?"** she accused him, hurt clearly coloring her words.

He pulled her to him and then behind him as the sound of his name from his father's angry lips reached his ears. **"Maria, wait!"** and then pulled the dagger on his father. **"I will not let you take her, Father."**

His father told him to put the dagger down but he would not lower it. **"Father, please. You have to listen to what Maria has to say!"**

**"Traitor! You are nothing to me now!"** his father spit out and he could read the truth of his father's words in his eyes. Lowering the blade he pulled Maria to him and told her to go. He could hear his father saying that he knew where to find them as they ran off into the forest.

They ran for the tree Maria had found earlier and Robin glanced behind himself to see three of his father's henchman closing in on them. Suddenly they reached the tree and Maria climbed into the whole calling for him to follow her. They walked down the dark depths of the tree hollow and then came to a door. **"Robin, look at this!"** she said excitedly. They looked at each other and then at the door before Maria pushed it open. They came into a small bedroom within the depths of the hollow where a bed was up against one of the far walls.

They both looked around the small room and he noticed a statue of what he thought to be of the original Moon Princess. It was wearing a pearl neclace but he knew that they couldn't be the real pearls since it was only a statue.

**"Where are they?"** Maria murmured to herself as she looked through various chests that lay about the room. She found a dress and exclaimed softly, **"It's hers. It must be."** He took it from her and placed it in the chest he himself was going through.

He watched and followed her as she made her way around the room coming to a stop before what looked like a fireplace but without the grate.  
**"Where? Where did you put them?"** she again asked the spirit of the Moon Princess as she pulled on a horse head that opened up a secret passageway. They both gasped as it opened and then laughed if a bit shakily. Robin ducked into the passage a little ways and looked around as Maria made her way over to a statue against the opposite wall. He watched in astonishment as Maria reached out to grab it. They suddenly went from being stone to real pearls and Maria smiled in triumph. She turned to show him her discovery. **"The Pearls!"** he exclaimed just as excited as she.

Suddenly they heard noises out in the passageway and Robin hurried over to block the door so that it would give them time to escape. Together they ducked in to the secret passage and the door slide shut behind them leaving them completely in the dark. Maria, knowing they needed light, asked the pearls for their help and they began to glow.

They continued down the pathway for a while when Robin stated, **"We're lost! Maria."**

She urged him on when she heard the sound of a horses neigh. **"Don't you see that?"** she asked. **"She's showing us the way!"** Robin looked at her like she had grown another head but he did not dispute her claim. He knew that the Moon Princess had gifts that were not normal and she could see things that others could not. The pearls were a good example. He had noticed them when they had entered the little room but had dismissed them as being the real pearls simply because they didn't look real. Up ahead though he could see a light and he could smell the salt air of the ocean. They came out just as her uncle and his father were about to kill each other.

**"STOP!"** Maria screamed. **"No, Uncle, no!"** she said just as he said** "Father, we got them!"**

Robin heard Sir Benjamin say **"Thank goodness"** but he really was not paying much attention. His focus was on the young woman by his side who was holding out the pearls for the two older males to see. His father demanded that she give the pearls to him and she pulled them away from his reach. Her uncle cursed the pearls saying that they had brought nothing but heartache and grief to those in the valley. Maria though contradicted her uncle with the truth. **"No, Uncle. It's not the pearls but the greed in our hearts which brings us this misery."**

Her statement was true, every last word. Just like the first Moon Princess she could see the real reason behind all the bitterness between the two families. Pride and greed were the heart of the curse and if she could get them to renounce their pride then maybe the curse would be lifted.

Loveday then made her appearance and Robin and his father looked at her as she entered. She asked their father why there was so much hatred in his heart and he of course laid the blame on Merryweather's. She pulled their father's hands and that of her lost loves and clasped them before Maria who held the pearls within her hands.

Maria told the two men to look at the moon. She told them that the curse was coming true and that if they could lay aside their pride they could save both of their families and the valley. They of course could not do so and Robin watched as Maria told them that she would have to do it herself.

Robin's heart clenched at her words. What could she mean to do? He watched as she made her way to the cliffs edge and then held up the pearls. He then heard her shout up at the moon. **"At the five thousandth moon. I, Maria Merryweather, Moon Princess of Moonacre, do remove the curse that darkens this valley! Take back what is yours!"** He watched as she threw the pearls out towards the sea and was a little bewildered when they came flying back towards her. His heart in his throat, he saw her pull the necklace apart and then again hurl the pearls towards the sea. Again they came flying back only this time attaching themselves to her dress and sticking. He watched as she desperately tried to brush them off but to no avail. Everyone watched as she turned slightly back to them a sad smile on her face and then she again faced the sea.

Robin realized to late what she was planning on doing and he raced to the edge just as she leaped of the edge of the cliff and fell down towards the sea. **"NO! NO! NO!"** he screamed as he watched who he now knew was the love of his life disappear beneath the waves. He couldn't breathe. It felt like his heart had stopped beating as he waited for her to surface but he knew that that was not a possibility not with the dress she had on. The velvet he knew would drag her down and she would drown before she was able to reach the surface for air. He was near tears when his father pulled him away from the edge just as a bright light washed over the ocean and the cliff then the rest of the valley. They had to turn their eyes away to keep from being blinded by the glare.

When they turned back a massive tidal wave was coming towards them but it was what was in the waves that had everyone on the cliff staring. There were horses galloping in the waves and Robin could make out that a central horse had something on its back. He hoped against hope that it was Maria. Suddenly the wave flew up and they again had to turn away. When they turned back a unicorn was standing where Maria had jumped off only moments before. But it was the figure on its back that had Robin nearly shouting in joy.** "MARIA!"** He was the first to shout followed by everyone else.

Her uncle came and lifted her off the unicorn and they shared an embrace before she walked up to Robin and asked softly, **"Were you worried, Robin?"**

He tried to hide his joy and answered sullenly, **"No. Anyone could have done that,"** which earned him a slap on the back of his head by his sister causing him to smile. He continued to watch Maria as everyone tried to hug her or vied for her attention. Suddenly a roar tore through the cliffside and everyone looked up to see a huge black lion standing on the top of one of the archways that led down into the arena. Maria simply smiled and said,** "It's alright Uncle. It's just Wrolf."**

Wrolf? As in her demon dog? The dog was actually a lion!? A rare black lion at that! Robin wasn't sure if the day could get any stranger. He then saw Sir Benjamin pull his sister aside and go down on one knee. But before he could say anything Dulac, his father's main henchmen, showed up and pointed a gun straight at Maria saying he would finish her off right then. His father yelled at him to stop and Robin was ready to jump in front of Maria if it became necessary. He was not about to let her out of his sight anytime soon. Her near death experience a moment ago had taken years off his life and he did not want to go through something like that again anytime soon.

Just then Maria's governess came in a beat the man off with her bare umbrella which was a sight to see.

Her uncle again tried to propose to Loveday and Miss Heliotrope interrupted again, this time asking if there was to be a wedding. Loveday just smiled and Digweed, Sir Benjamin's man, came over and silently proposed to the woman and she just as silently accepted.

They all then turned to look out over the ocean, Maria standing close to Robin and he trying hard not to reach out and grab her hand in his even though he wanted to so desperately.

The curse over the valley was now broken and old rivalries dead. New loves awakened and friendships were on the mend. Moonacre Valley was again at peace.


End file.
